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December 2023

December 24, 2023

God Made Into Flesh

Grace means suddenly you’re in a different universe from the one where you were stuck,...

December 14, 2023

Truth is Too Fragile to be Chanted on the Street

There is a saying attributed to Saint Francis that I have heard frequently in more...

December 08, 2023

No Perception is Immaculate

I have taught philosophy in Catholic higher education for more that thirty years as a...

October 2023

October 01, 2023

What A Real Philosopher Looks Like

My two sons have never thought that I look like a philosopher. This has been...

September 2023

September 03, 2023

The Moral Life in One Sentence

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed in my office by a reporter from The...

August 2023

August 31, 2023

Creating a Sabbath Culture (why everyone should have sabbaticals)

Fall semester classes started last Monday. And I'm on sabbatical, not returning to the classroom...

August 27, 2023

The Great Homesickness We Could Never Shake Off

The first draft of my first sabbatical book project is completed, minus the introduction and...

August 22, 2023

The Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue three years later

It doesn't seem possible that it has been exactly three years since Marsue Harris, one...

August 20, 2023

Even the Best of Us has Bad Days

A conversation heard behind the scenes: Dude! Did you see what just happened?? How could...

August 08, 2023

Dreamers Who Get Things Done

Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. This, promises...

July 2023

July 23, 2023

You Say You Want a Revolution?

There is a saying, particularly popular among conservatives, that “A conservative is a liberal who...

June 2023

June 20, 2023

Loving Your Life

I have a good friend and teaching colleague who told me the other day that...

June 17, 2023

Of Jackalopes and Loons

I just finished a lovely week with my brother Vaughn and sister-in-law LaVona in Santa...

June 13, 2023

Walking Away from Jesusland

In our never-ending search for excellent police dramas, Jeanne and I watched the first season...

June 02, 2023

Reading the Bible as Literarily (not literally) True

Last week I participated in a two-day end-of-the-academic-year workshop with a dozen fellow faculty in...

May 2023

May 25, 2023

Why Being a Stoner is a Plus in the LIfe of Faith

One of my two sabbatical book projects is tentatively titled The Freelance Christian's Guide to the...

May 14, 2023

She Opens Her Mouth With Wisdom . . . Her Childen Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

Because of the quirks of the calendar, the anniversary of my father's death and Mother's...

May 10, 2023

What I Learned From My Father

One of the most important things an author has to write when a book is...

April 2023

April 27, 2023

Swimming in the Miraculous

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older...

April 17, 2023

Drops Upon the Heart

In the interdisciplinary program I teach in and used to direct, the first semester faculty...

April 11, 2023

A Very Reluctant Rose

A few days ago on campus I detected a familiar, seasonal odor wafting on the...

March 2023

March 26, 2023

To Truly Live, We Have to Die

In a podcast I was listening to while walking Bovina a few days ago, a...

March 23, 2023

Redeeming the Time

“Redeem the time,” Paul says in his letter to the church at Philippi, “because the...

March 12, 2023

How to Educate a Story-Telling Animal

Man is in his actions and practices, as well as in his fictions, essentially a...

March 09, 2023

Whose Life Is it Anyway?

Albert Camus' classic extended essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" begins as follows: There is but...

March 05, 2023

My Prime Number Birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday. You get one guess for how old I’ll be, with these...

March 02, 2023

Getting Back to the Basics

This coming Sunday's gospel gets us back to the basics. Sports fans old enough to...

February 2023

February 24, 2023

Why Did Jesus Turn Water Into Wine?

This is the third day of Lent. Are you one of those people who give...

January 2023

January 15, 2023

Mansplaining in the Bible

At a department meeting not long ago, our department chair wondered whether it might be...

January 05, 2023

Mediocrates Returns with Some Additional Wisdom

The college basketball season is in full swing. Although I have not posted about it...

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